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#11 Section of Indian Act is Repealed (1985)
A portion of the Indian Act, specifically Section 12, is removed as a result of the Lavell case. Native women can now marry a non-native as well as keep their status and rights to own and inherit family lands. On top of this, they can also participate in band councils and other political and social affairs in their community. -
#2 Mohawks Rebel Against Building of Golf Course on Ancestral Lands (1990)
Mohawk warriors set up barricades to protect their land from a golf course expansion near Oka, Quebec. Violence erupts between the provincial police, and eventually, the army is called in to push the Mohawks back. As a result of these protests and demands, the golf course is never built. This series of events helped the Mohawks of Oka find their voice, and utilize it in a way that spelled a positive change in their favor. -
#12 The Refusal of support by Aboriginals for revitalized Constitution (1992)
A Cree member of the Manitoba legislature, Elijah Harper, refused to support the Meech Lake Accord, which saw the Canadian Government trying to win Quebec's consent to the changed Constitution. This was on the ground that the revitalization of the Canadian Constitution did not include nor recognize Aboriginal rights. As a result of his actions, the accord was overturned, and thus sent the provinces as well as the Federal Government back to the discussion table. -
#8 The events of Ipperwash Provincal Park in Ontario (1995)
After many decades of letter-writing campaigns, members of the Stony Point and Kettle First Nations enter Ipperwash Provincial Park to call on the government to return their land which it occupied in 1942 for a training camp, and they promised to give the land back. Sadly, things went astray and protester Dudley George was shot dead, and two others were injured. The land was officially returned in 2007. -
#9 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples Report (1997)
This commission submits its report after five years. This commission was formed in the wake of the 1991 Oka crisis. 4 of the 7 commissioners were Aboriginal, and the other 3 were non-aboriginal. They came to the conclusion during the report that there is a need to revamp the relationship between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal people in Canada. This new relationship would have to respect Aboriginal cultures and values, and past. 440 recommendations were set out over 20 years to establish this. -
#6 Nisga'a peoples sign Massive Land Claim (1998)
For the first time in their history, the Nisga'a people sign a treaty with the governments of both British Columbia and Canada settling a land claim of over 2000 square km of land. -
#5 Nunavut is offically a terrritory (1999)
Nunavut is created, which was a new territory made up of a majority of Inuit people and Inuktitut, as well as English, being the official languages. Politically speaking, they exhibited their own legislative assembly, which has powers equivalent to those of any other federal territory, and its own Supreme Court. -
#4 Six Nations Protest (2006)
Members of the Six Nations (Haudenosaunee) put up barricades around a housing development near Caledonia, Ontario to demand recognization of their land title which was taken away in the 1840s. The Ontario Government responds by buying housing development and placing a ban on all construction in the area. Some land claims are settled later, during 2008. In 2011, the province awards local residents and businesses $20 million in settlement of a class-action lawsuit for the disruption of business. -
#3 Shannen Koostachin and her Meeting with Indian Affairs Minister (2008)
14-year-old Shannen Koostachin from the Attawapiskat First Nation in northern Ontario meets with Indian Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl regarding a new "safe, comfy" school for her community. Her pleas were rejected, and the 2013-2014 school year at her school was coming to a close. However, this event had some positive future repercussions and a foundation was created in her name, and eventually, Ottawa funded a new school in early 2014. -
#10 Canada Endorses UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (2010)
Canada endorses the UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous peoples, which it had opposed in 2007. -
#1 Idle No More Movement (2012)
The Idle No More Movement utilized social media to call on "all people to join in a peaceful revolution, to honor indigenous sovereignty, and to protect the land and water." Protests such as circle dances and rail blockades are staged across the country on a wide variety of issues. -
#7 Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (2015)
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission looked at events alleged to have occurred inside the walls of residential schools across Canada, as well as the negative effects of the schools' goal to assimilate Indigenous children. Murray Sinclair, Manitoba's first Aboriginal associate chief justice, was the chair of the commission. The commission held a series of national events across Canada, in places like Winnipeg and Saskatoon. Its final report included 94 "calls to action" to "redress legacy."
